Shrek
Shrek is a 2001 American computer animated fantasy comedy film loosely based on the 1990 fairytale picture book of the same name by William Steig. It was directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson in their directorial debuts, and stars the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and John Lithgow. The film somewhat serves as a parody of other films adapted from numerous fairy tales, mainly animated Disney films. In the story, Shrek (Myers) finds his swamp overrun by fairy tale creatures who have been banished there by order of the evil Lord Farquaad (Lithgow). In order to get his swamp back, Shrek makes a deal with Farquaad to bring him a queen in exchange for the deed for his swamp. Shrek sets out with a talking Donkey (Murphy) and rescues Princess Fiona (Diaz). As they take Fiona to Farquaad so she can marry him, Shrek starts to fall in love with the princess and soon discovers a secret about her. The rights to Steig's book were originally bought by Steven Spielberg in 1991, before the founding of DreamWorks, when he thought about making a traditionally animated film based on the book. However, John H. Williams convinced him to bring the film to DreamWorks in 1994, the time the studio was founded, and the film was put quickly into active development by Jeffrey Katzenberg after the rights were bought by the studio in 1995. Chris Farley was originally cast as the voice for the title character, recording about 80%–90% of his dialogue. After Farley died in 1997 before he could finish his work, Mike Myers was brought in to voice the character, who, after his first recording, decided to record his voice in a Scottish accent. The film was also originally planned to be motion-captured, but after poor results, the studio decided to recruit Pacific Data Images to help Shrek get its final computer-animated look. Shrek established DreamWorks Animation as a prime competitor to Pixar in feature film computer animation, and grossed $484.4 million at the worldwide box office against its $60 million production budget. It was acclaimed as an animated film worthy of adult interest, with many adult-oriented jokes and themes but a simple enough plot and humor to appeal to children. Shrek won the first ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, and was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay. It was also nominated for six British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards, including the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Eddie Murphy for his voice performance as Donkey, and won the BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. The film's success prompted DreamWorks to create three sequels—Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek the Third (2007), and Shrek Forever After (2010), two holiday specials—Shrek the Halls (2007) and Scared Shrekless (2010), and a spin-off film—Puss in Boots (2011). A fifth film, planned as the last of the series, was cancelled in 2009, with the announcement that the fourth film would conclude the series. However, the fifth film was revived in 2016, which is currently in development.4 The film's success also inspired other merchandise, such as video games, a stage musical, and a comic bookadaptation by Dark Horse Comics. The film's main title character was awarded his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in May 2010. Plot Shrek, a mean and highly territorial green ogre who loves the solitude of his swamp, finds his life interrupted when countless fairytale creatures are exiled there by the fairytale-hating and vertically-challenged Lord Farquaad of Duloc. An angered Shrek decides to ask Farquaad to exile them elsewhere. He brings along a talking Donkey, who is the only fairytale creature willing to guide him to Duloc. Meanwhile, Farquaad tortures the Gingerbread Man for the location of the remaining fairytale creatures. His guards rush in with something he has been searching for: the Magic Mirror. He asks the Mirror if his kingdom is the fairest of them all but is told that he is not even a king, as he isn't descended from royalty. To be one, he must marry a princess, so Farquaad resolves to marry Princess Fiona, who is locked in a castle tower guarded by a dragon. Unwilling to perform the task himself, he organizes a tournament wherein the winner gets the "privilege" of rescuing Fiona for him. Shrek and Donkey arrive during the tournament, and ignorantly defeat Farquaad's knights. Farquaad proclaims them the champions, and compels them under threat of death to rescue Fiona, promising to move the fairytale creatures from Shrek's swamp if he succeeds. Shrek and Donkey travel to the castle to find Fiona. They are noticed by Dragon, who corners Donkey. In desperation, he sweet-talks the beast, learning that it is female. Dragon falls in love with Donkey and carries him to her chambers. Meanwhile, Shrek finds Fiona, who is appalled at his lack of romanticism and surprised he had not slain Dragon. They leave after rescuing Donkey, and Fiona is thrilled to be rescued but is quickly disappointed when Shrek reveals he is an ogre. Despite her demands that Farquaad come get her in person, Shrek forcibly carries her as he ventures back to Duloc with Donkey. The three encounter Robin Hood on their way back, where it is revealed that Fiona is an expert martial artist. Shrek and Fiona find they have a lot in common and begin to fall in love. When the trio is almost at Duloc, Fiona takes shelter in a windmill for the evening. Donkey hears strange noises from within and investigates, finding Fiona transformed into an ogre. She explains that she was cursed during childhood to transform every night, and that only her true love's kiss will change her to "love's true form". Meanwhile, Shrek is about to confess his feelings to Fiona and overhears part of their conversation. He is heartbroken when he mistakes her comment about being an "ugly beast" as disgust toward him. At Donkey's suggestion, Fiona vows to tell Shrek about her curse, but dawn breaks and she turns back into a human. She finds that Shrek has brought Lord Farquaad to the windmill. Confused by Shrek's sudden disposition towards her, Fiona accepts Farquaad's marriage proposal and requests they be married before nightfall. The couple return to Duloc, while a hurt and angry Shrek abandons Donkey and returns to his now-vacated swamp. An angered Donkey arrives at the swamp, where Shrek reveals that he overheard Donkey and Fiona's conversation. Donkey tells Shrek that she was talking about someone else, and urges Shrek to go after Fiona before she is married. They travel to Duloc quickly by riding Dragon, who had escaped her confines and followed Donkey. Shrek interrupts the wedding before Farquaad can kiss Fiona. He tells her that Farquaad is not her true love and is only marrying her to become king. The sun sets, which turns Fiona into an ogre in front of everyone, causing a surprised Shrek to fully understand what he overheard. Outraged, Farquaad orders Shrek executed and Fiona detained. Dragon bursts in alongside Donkey and devours Farquaad. Shrek and Fiona profess their love and share a kiss; Fiona's curse is lifted but she is surprised to see that she is still an ogre and not beautiful. Shrek reassures her that she is. They marry in the swamp and leave on their honeymoon. Voice cast * Mike Myers as Shrek and Three Blind Mice * Eddie Murphy as Donkey * Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona * John Lithgow as Lord Farquaad * Vincent Cassel as "Monsieur" Robin Hood * Conrad Vernon as Gingerbread Man * Chris Miller as Geppetto and Magic Mirror * Cody Cameron as Pinocchio and The Three Little Pigs * Simon J. Smith as Three Blind Mice * Christopher Knights as Three Blind Mice and Thelonius * Aron Warner as Big Bad Wolf * Jim Cummings as Captain of the Guards * Kathleen Freeman as Old Woman (Donkey's ex-owner) * Andrew Adamson as Duloc Mascot (a man dressed in a suit that looks like Lord Farquaad) * Bobby Block as Baby Bear from the Three Bears * Michael Galasso as Peter Pan * Additional Voices: Jack Angel - Lord Faquaad's Guards, Patrick Pinney - Lord Farquaad's Guards, Phil Proctor - Lord Farquaad's Guards, Bob Bergen - Lord Farquaad's Gurads, Frank Welker - Dragon, Richard Steven Horvitz - Lord Farquaad's Guards, David Cowgill - Lord Farquaad's Guards, Corey Burton - Lord Farquaad's Guards, Pat Fry - Shrek's roaring voice, Bill Farmer - Lord Farquaad's Guards, Ben Small - Screaming Villager, Rick Jones - Father Bear, Hal Smith - Man with the Flute, Rodger Bumpass - Lord Farquaad's Guards, Holly Gauthier-Frankel - Bird, James Hong - Villager, & Pat Carroll Songs * All Star (performed by Smash Mouth) * I'm All Alone (performed by Eddie Murphy) * I'm On the Road Again (performed by Eddie Murphy) * Welcome to Duloc * Bad Reputation (performed by Halfcocked) * I'm On My Way (performed by The Proclaimers) * My Beloved Monster (performed by Eels) * You Belong to Me (performed by Jason Made) * Fiona's Bird Song * Merry Men * Hallelujah (performed by John Cale) * I'm A Believer (performed by Smash Mouth) * I'm A Believer (reprise) (performed by Eddie Murphy) * Stay Home (performed by Self) * Like Wow (performed by Leslie Carter) * It's Is You (I Have Loved) (performed by Dana Glover) Category:2001 films Category:2000s American animated films Category:Films directed by Andrew Adamson Category:Films directed by Vicky Jenson Category:Films produced by Aron Warner Category:Films produced by John H. Williams Category:Films produced by Jeffrey Katzenberg Category:Film scores by James Horner Category:DreamWorks Pictures films Category:DreamWorks Animation Category:VHS Category:DVD